Improvement in the manufacture of floor-cloths from straw-board



NIT-ED S ATES FRANCIS N. DAVIS, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLOOR -CLOTHS FROM STRAW-BOARD.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,210, dated November 19, 1872.

have from time to time been produced for the purpose but they have generally failed when submitted to practical tests, or in the end proved too expensive in their manufacture.

My invention has for its object to provide such an article for general use as shall possess all the strength and durability of oilcloth and carpeting, and which shall be capable of a high degree of finish and ornamentation, and at the same time cost less than onefourth or one-fifth the price of the cheapest oil-cloths and carpets. To the accomplishment of these results my invention consists in a new product, to wit: Straw-board manufactured in continuous lengths of the required thickness, having a hard, firm finish or face, and painted or printed with oil-colors or water-colors in any ornamental desi n suitable for oil-cloth and carpeting. In carrying out my invention I take strawboard in continuous lengths, either plain or rendered fire-proof or damp-proof, or both, and pass it between suitable rollers, by which a groundcolor or size is applied, and a smooth hardsurface produced to receive the subsequent ornamentation. I then subject it to the operation of printing-rollers m or paint it by hand, so as to form any ornamental figure or design, the same as ordinary oil-cloth or'carpeting. After the paint has thoroughly dried I varnish the whole painted surface, preferably using N0. 1 coach-varnish. This maybe done immediately after printing, or after the board has been applied to a floor.

I generally employ water-colors in ornamenting, printing, or painting the board, as they can be laid on much more rapidly and economically than oil-colors, and when dry and coated with varnish form a firm and hard instead of a soft and gummy surface. The board, therefore, will wear and retain its finish longer than the ordinary oil cloth. In some cases, however, I use oil-colors, but prefer water-colors for the reasons above stated.

The board may be treated with alum before ornamentation in order to render it fire-proof,

or with chemicals that will increase its strength and firmness, or render it fire-proof or dampproof, or both fire and damp proof.

The sizing or ground-coloring process may be performed upon the machine on which the board is made, or by a separate apparatus, either connected with the paper-engine or constituting a separate machine.

I do not confine myself to any special order in working the process for preparing the board to receive the colors and varnish, as it may be varied extensively, the main object being that the board shall be sized and finished with a hard, firm surface before being painted or varnished. Any process, therefore, thatv shall accomplish these results I regard as included in my invention.

Instead of using clear straw for the manufacture of the board, I sometimes add a little stock to the straw; this, however, is a matter of preference.

In applying the board to a floor Itack it about one inch apart and about one-half inch from the edge, placing a tack occasionally in the center.

By'my invention a substitute for oil-cloth and carpeting is produced which is as strong and durable as oil-cloth, possessing as fine a finish and costing about one-sixth as much. The expense of covering a room is about five dollars, where the cost would be thirty dollars to cover it with oil-cloth.

I am aware that Manila paper has been used as a carpet-lining, and also as a floorcovering without a carpet. This, however, I do not claim. Its cost is nearly equal to that of oil-cloth, and forms but a light, thin floorcovering.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. As a new article of manufacture trade, a floor-covering composed of strawlengths of straw-board ornamented in suitable board in. continuous lengths, having a hard, designs with water-colors, substantially as defirm surface painted or printed in suitable orscribed, for the purpose specified.

namental designs and coated with varnish, FRANCIS N. DAVIS. substantially as described, for the purpose Witnesses: specified. E. A. ELLSWORTH,

2. Floor-coverings composed of continuous A.-O. HUTOHISON. 

